Geekerella- You Shall Go to the Ball!

*Received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I’m sorry, cheesy title, but I had to go there 😉 As you probably know I have a weakness for fairy tales and, above all fairy tales, I have an unhealthy habit of reading and watching *every single* Cinderella related story I can get my hands on. It’s one of those things I can’t really explain, but I’m addicted to the tale. So when I saw this book which had not only one of my favourite stories, but also involved fangirling over a space drama, which hello is very me, I just had to have it.

One of the best things about it was the world building for the in-book show Starfield that the heroine loves. I read somewhere that the author actually wrote out a plot for all the episodes and you can totally tell. The slogans are fun and realistic, the details were out of this world, and loads of it reminded me of cult classics like Firefly (incidentally one of my favourite shows). There was a spanner in the works in how it reminded me of some other shows I’m not hugely fond of, so I have to admit there was a bit of a disconnect for me there. That said, I never felt left behind by the story and I adored the virtual trail of glass slippers that led back to the classic fairy tale. All the subtle connections between the two stories were stitched together in an exquisite gown that most certainly ignited the stars.

The fandom within the story also worked well. I appreciated how the book explored the theme of finding your place in make believe, whilst tackling the issue of gatekeepers (the “you’re not a real fan” brigade) and having to deal with very real issues at the same time. It made a lot of sense that the main character, Elle, would disconnect from reality like this and acknowledged her loneliness through this topic in a way that gave the narrative plenty of heart.

I did get very emotional reading this (yes, it made me cry 😉 ) and experienced a pretty much all the *feels*. I went from chuckling to squealing to laughing at the speed of light. In terms of plot, it did take some time to reach the midpoint unfortunately, but eventually we had lift off! There weren’t really any surprises in terms of narrative, we all know the story by now, yet ultimately it took off into the stratosphere.

I won’t say that it was the most intergalactic romance I’ve ever come across, however, I did feel a spark there. Sometimes (Cinder)Elle(a) was a bit mean to her prince, but I could live with that. Plus, the side romance of Cal and Sage was so cute!! I really liked what was done with Cal’s stepsister character and that it wasn’t all textbook fairy tales.

That said, if you’re worried the mean step-relation role won’t be filled, oh boy no fear there! I always love to loathe certain characters and the stepmother is no exception. She most definitely lived up to her reputation here- though she was much more 21^st century in terms of cruelty. I did get the sense that the author was trying to bring forth more modern ideas, giving Elle a bit more autonomy outside her home life, which made a certain kind of sense- sometimes it’s hardest to confront the biggest problems.

All in all, there was lots to like about this unique Cinderella adaptation!

Rating: 4/5 bananas

So have you read this? Do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!